The attorney for an Army reservist who allegedly led the abuse of Iraqi detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison says he wants to force top Defense Department officials and at least three generals to testify at the soldier's upcoming court-martial.

A court artist shows Army Spc. Charles Graner Jr. at his arraignment in Baghdad last month.

AFP

To try to prove that Army Spc. Charles Graner was acting legally, defense attorney Guy Womack wants testimony not just from Graner's immediate supervisors, but also from those well up the chain of command. Womack says his list of potential witnesses includes Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

'Can't go on a fishing expedition'

Womack says he wants top military leaders to testify about what orders were given about how to treat detainees. "We're going to prove the chain of command knew (the abuse) was going on and did nothing to countermand it," says Womack, a veteran military attorney now in private practice in Houston.

Getting testimony from the nation's highest-ranking military leaders would be difficult but not impossible, military-law analysts say. Womack would have to show a military judge that such testimony would be relevant to what Graner knew and how he behaved.

Analysts say that prosecutors are likely to oppose efforts by Womack to shift responsibility for the abuse up the chain of command. The Defense Department declined to comment.

If successful, Womack could focus the spotlight on the sensitive issue of whether the abuse at Abu Ghraib stemmed from aggressive interrogation policies endorsed by U.S. military leaders.

"His challenge is that he has to prove that the testimony is relevant. He can't go on a fishing expedition," says retired Army major general Michael Nardotti, who was the military's top lawyer from 1993 to 1997 and now is a partner in Patton Boggs, a prominent law firm in Washington, D.C.

Several military-law analysts say they do not know of any precedent for compelling top officials to testify in military trials. In 1999, a military judge refused to make an Army general who was commander of a task force in Haiti testify in a court-martial case involving a soldier who disobeyed orders trying to stop prison abuse in that country.

Graner, 35, of Uniontown, Pa., is accused of being a ringleader in the abuse of Iraqi inmates at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. In the now-famous photos of abused prisoners that were taken by U.S. soldiers, Graner appears more often than any other soldier. Witnesses have identified him as a leader of the abuse.

Graner is charged with abuse, cruelty and maltreatment of prisoners; committing indecent acts, and obstruction of justice. He also is charged with adultery because of his alleged affair with Pfc. Lynndie England, another reservist charged in the case. If convicted, Graner could face up to 24½ years in prison.

Womack says that he needs to call high-ranking officials to prove that Graner's actions were part of an official policy to get information from suspected terrorists and insurgents.

"The government is trying to make it seem like nobody approved of this or knew of this, and that it was seven rogue military policeman suddenly went crazy and flipped out," Womack says. "I'll be able to prove that's a lie."

He says he is considering calling Rumsfeld as a witness and definitely will subpoena Stephen Cambone, undersecretary of Defense for intelligence.

Trial may come in August

Cambone recently told Congress that he pushed for more coordination between intelligence officers and military police working as guards. But he testified that he did not approve of sexually humiliating and intimidating prisoners.

Womack also plans to call three generals: Sanchez; Maj. General Geoffrey Miller, who now runs the prison, and Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who was in charge of the prison when the abuse took place.

"I won't attack these witnesses unless they lie or conceal something. I just want to them to say, 'Yeah, we loosened the reins (on interrogations) to get more information, and it was the right thing to do,' " Womack says.

Walter Huffman, dean of Texas Tech University's law school, says that Womack might have to prove that Graner had direct contact with witnesses Womack wants to call — or at least show that Graner was influenced by something he heard Rumsfeld or a general say.

"It's not a bad tactic to try to spread blame around on everyone but his client, but he'll have to offer some proof that what happened above (Graner's) rank was directly relevant to what he did," says Huffman, a retired major general who was the Army's top lawyer from 1997 to 2001.

Graner will have a hearing next Monday in concerning what evidence and witnesses he will have access to. Womack expects a two-week trial, probably in August.

Graner, who in civilian life is a guard at a maximum-security prison in Pennsylvania, e-mails Womack six to eight times a day about his case, Womack says. Graner also has a military attorney, Capt. John Heath, in Iraq.

Womack says that Graner is confined to an Army compound in Iraq, where he has been assigned menial tasks such as picking up trash and answering phones.